Land women’s shoulders are broad. Sometimes too much: to the point of taking the blame for the crime committed by a man to protect the family. This is what happens to Anita Calzavara, protagonist of Stay with me, sisterthe new novel by Emanuela Canepa (Einaudi).
Anita and Noemi: the women of Emanuela Canepa
We are in the 1920s, in Padua. Thanks to her father, Anita had the opportunity to receive a minimal education and she works as a proofreader in the newspaper where her half-brother Biagio also works. When the boy commits a theft, she ends up in jail to cover him up: his salary guarantees a future for his beloved little sister Luisa. Between bars, on the Giudecca, the girl emerges from her for her skills as an accountant and does the knowledge of Noemi Folena. The ostracism of the other inmates towards both brings them closer: Noemi is an embroiderer with golden hands, together they plan to start a business.
When Anita gets out of jail, she has to take a job as a waitress at the home of benefactress Clelia Bernardis in Venice. Here he meets Bruno, a war veteran with the charm of the alpha male. Anita is attracted to him but she is aware of a dark side of her, an inclination to violence that worries her. His life comes to a crossroads: choose Bruno, or wait for Noemi to get out of prison? And Luisa, will she be able to see her again?
Stay with me, sister of Emanuela Canepa, Einaudi Free Style (pages 408, euro 19).
Anita’s freedom clashes with her being a woman and the social stigmas of the time, but also with the surprises of fate. Emanuela Canepa, a Roman transplanted to Padua, is at her third narrative test, which she does not disappoint. As in her previous novels, she probes the human soul with calm mastery, moving at ease in a historical scenario that leads us to discover the world of women in Italy a hundred years ago.
How was the character of Anita Calzavara born?
The story comes from a precise place: the Giudecca prison. I wanted to set this novel in Venice, but not in the postcard city. I chose a more popular neighborhood, where I discovered this prison. I was very impressed that it was run by nuns, who stayed until 1992! I liked the idea of a woman who enters prison innocent to save someone else. Even today there is a disparity between what women and men earn, but then the difference was glaring. From here comes Anita, who sacrifices herself because her pay could not support the family, while Biagio’s could. She is a simple girl, not too cultured but enterprising. She is unusual: in prison she is the only one who knows how to read and write.
Emanuela Canepa, Roman, lives in Padua. She started with The female animal (Einaudi), unanimous winner of the Calvino Prize.
Why did you choose to try your hand at a historical novel?
I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I have a degree in history, I have been a librarian for a long time (now she dedicates herself full time to writing, ed) and I have the tools to do research. I had various areas of interest to explore: the condition of women in prison, the city of Venice – little studied in that historical period – the war, the Spanish epidemic…
Was it a long job?
It took me three years. I started researching during the pandemic, for a year and a half I studied Venice. Then I wrote.
Among the many facts you came across, is there anything that struck you in particular?
The transport of the body of the Unknown Soldier to Rome. He left Aquileia by train, and stopped at various stations in Italy. Even in Venice: the crowds ran to pay homage, it was an elaboration of the ghost of the First World War. In those days, Anita was in Venice, so I wanted her to participate in this moment.
How was Anita’s office job seen?
With the exception of women of the upper class and the aristocracy, female work has always existed, especially in the countryside. At the time, women in the city were allowed to work in offices, but they were poorly paid. They were judged negatively because they weren’t home having children. When Anita is the last woman in the newsroom that evening, it is a violation of the morality of the time. Even socialists, who supported women’s rights, demanded that men be paid well so that women could stay at home.
Does the book put sisterhood at the center?
Yes, understood in the double meaning, biological and spiritual. The theme made me play for the narrative scheme. Anita and Noemi are two differently unfortunate girls, isolated in a feminine environment: the strength of their bond opens up the space to imagine a future, a dream. Women don’t always support each other, but when sisterhood is activated it has a stronger generative potential, which is not found in relationships between men.
Bruno is an ambitious war veteran, who feels destined to command, even women. Doesn’t he find that there are men like this even today?
Unfortunately, the news offers us daily examples. Bruno believes he is a prize in Anita’s life, someone who stoops to marry her, in reality he does it for her goal. He is haughty, he is one of those men accustomed to violence, who want to dominate. He is not a fascist, because here we are at the beginning, but people like him were then the source of the first fascism.
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